Sageworth Trust Co Has $168,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (MS)

Sageworth Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 500.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the quarter. Sageworth Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $515,000. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the second quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 34,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 11,550 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 437,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,722,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 165,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,826,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.49% of the company’s stock.

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In other news, major shareholder Stanley Morgan sold 327 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23,000.00, for a total value of $7,521,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,055,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,459,771. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $42.88 and a fifty-two week high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.16. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $9.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 18th that permits the company to repurchase $4.70 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. ValuEngine downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 2nd. Sandler O’Neill restated a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 18th. Societe Generale restated a “$49.85” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 19th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group set a $59.00 target price on Morgan Stanley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.82.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company operates Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.